Agnosticism means that he does not understand if there is anything beyond earthly realms. It does not mean that he believes in existence beyond an earthly realm, it means he doesn't know.

I am an Agnostic that leans toward atheism, but it is arrogant in my eyes to say there is or isn't a God without proof, and it is arrogant to say there is or is not existence after physical death, because we will never truly know until we croak.

This one is not in college yet. :eekdance: This one is soon to be an 11th grader. :eekdance: This one fears retribution for not having a stable "foundation" of knowledge (as per, the taking of philosophy in the educational system).

Sorry if I underwhelm people with that fact.

In fact, my interest in such things became a huge thing a few years ago for me, it's just that I "found" myself a lot earlier than most did or even bothered to do. Since then I have spent countless hours rambling on to myself (I've scared some people) about these kinds of things. I spend time on Wikipedia at 1 or 2 in the morning just reading philosophy, then undertaking interesting topics by rolling the thought around in my head, and if further interest is still apparent, I buy some works by this person. I'm still reading Nietzsche's Beyond Good and Evil, and I've also been told to read some modern literature (Tolstoy, Dostoyevski, etc.). I'm currently reading Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science and Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance by Atul Gawande (excellent contemporary works, both, but not "philosophy," rather a study of contemporary medicine).

I find that there is a general branching of those four things, that the way man handles himself and others in an age of realism, and how man reacts with theological dilemma and his own history of existence (so hence, anthropology) is what determines "society." To me, those four things, plus things like how man perceives reality (psychology), and possibly more facets, make up one large whole.

So no, I have not taken any philosophy courses... although I plan to in college for my humanities. :tup:
So while I am no "closet expert" on philosophy and associated topics, I still like to "dabble" in them.

Hmm, bad wording on my part. It is to my awareness that agnosticism is simply that one acknowledges there is some type of omniscient Creator or Origin, and also an acknowledgment of possible afterlife, but understands or gives in to the fact there is no definite proof or evidence or even existence of these things.

...

I just rehashed what you said completely... sorry about that. :icon17:

EDIT: Agnosticism: "a-" meaning without, "gno" meaning knowledge... so yes, he doesn't know at all... and so my rehash is a rehash of my incorrect previous statement.

I am some weird postmodern/contemporary Christian... so I don't even know if I can be properly categorized as Christian at all.

"Dead men don't talk," is the best explanation ... you can't ask your deceased friend if there is an afterlife, after all.

^tis true my friend, dead men do not talk.

Philosophy is a wonderful subject to delve into whether for career or otherwise. Its nice to see someone so passionate about pursuits of human awareness.

No worries, I wasn't trying to call you out on agnosticism, I'm just very passionate about theology, ethics and secular organization and practice, and I wanted to make sure that the gentleman you were answering understood correctly. Secular movements in politics and sociology fascinating me. Its interesting to see Europe function, post-protest and how many governments and people operate when religion is taken out of the equation.

If you want some fun homework in your free time, look up a sociologist named Max Weber (pronounced Max Vay-ber). He had a theory about the spirit of capitalism and how it stems from the Catholic reformation, leading into the Protestant movement and how it affected society on an economic/social level. In a nut shell capitalism would not exist if it weren't for Protestants which lead to Calvinism according to Weber. This is more Sociology than philosophy, though they are closely intertwined.

Sorry don't want to thread hijack. Just thought it might interest you.

Anyways Thanks for starting a fun thread . My neurons are firing. :tiphat:

Cheers! http://i134.photobucket.com/albums/q...mug_cheers.gif

Actually, this is what I wanted from this thread in the first place.

Looking up some information on Max Weber, I see the connection... when once I thought about what the "American dream" had originally stemmed from, I attributed it to the original Purist pilgrims, which, more or less, is distilled Catholicism (works equates to salvation from a hot, fiery hell; good motivation indeed). The American dream is an interesting ideal, since only a few things constitute what might be considered the traditional "American life," that is, a good wife, a good job, a good house, a boy and girl, and a perfect retirement. Seems that the current sociopolitical situation, coupled with the fact that the baby boomers are eating the nation's healthcare and social security money, is changing what might be considered the "American dream."

Cheers indeed. :tiphat: